Rieko Tsuchida, piano
Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, 55 E. Wacker Drive
Born in San Francisco, Serena Wang (Wang Yalun) began piano studies at age four. Since then she has performed with a number of major orchestras and conductors throughout China and the United States. Concert appearances include working with the China Philharmonic, China National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic and Vancouver Symphony, among others. Conductors she has worked with include Yu Long, Zubin Mehta, Charles Dutoit, Gustavo Riveroeber and Zhang Guoyong.
In recent seasons Serena has appeared with the New York Philharmonic as part of their 2024 Lunar New Year celebration concert. She was invited back to the Shanghai Symphony to play Shostakovich Concerto No.1 in 2023, and Bartok Concerto No. 3 with Christoph Eschenbach in 2024. She was reinvited to the Hong Kong Philharmonic playing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In 2020 the China Philharmonic toured Eastern Europe with Serena as soloist. Just the year before, Serena played alongside Martha Argerich in a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with the Shanghai Symphony, Charles Dutoit conducting. It was during that period she also made her debuts with the New York Philharmonic and London Philharmonia.
In 2016-17, Serena toured North America with the China Philharmonic, Yu Long conducting, and made her debut at Italy’s International Piano Festival of Bergamo and Brescia. She also had debuts with the Singapore Symphony, and the Israel Philharmonic where she toured to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa with Zubin Mehta.
Serena made her first recording with Channel Classics at the age of nine featuring works by Mozart, Chopin, Shostakovich and Tan Dun. She is an avid chamber music musician and loves to perform with vocalists.
Serena’s formal training began at age six with the eminent professor, Zhaoyi Dan. She continued her studies under the guidance of Meng-Chieh Liu and Yoheved Kaplinsky. Serena is currently pursuing her undergraduate studies at the Juilliard School with Robert McDonald. Beginning next fall she will enter the Curtis Institute of Music to continue her studies with Mr. McDonald.
The concerts are generously sponsored by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and by individual donors.